Teachers ready to run round Big Apple

HEADING for the Big Apple next week are three teachers at John Henry Newman School in Stevenage. They have been training hard for the New York Marathon on November 5 to raise money for the school s charity Kiddy Support Scheme (KISS). Pupils spent one lun

HEADING for the Big Apple next week are three teachers at John Henry Newman School in Stevenage.

They have been training hard for the New York Marathon on November 5 to raise money for the school's charity Kiddy Support Scheme (KISS).

Pupils spent one lunch time this month raising money for the charity set up by a former student. The money will go towards helping deprived children in Uganda.

To raise the cash, students paid £2 to forgo their normal uniform of kilts, blazers and tailored trousers to wear red, white and blue outfits in keeping with colours of the American flag.

All other fundraising activities were in keeping with a New York theme from a red, white and blue cake sale to a name-that-face style game with pictures of American icons.

A sweepstake is being held for pupils to guess the closest finishing time of the marathon runners - English teacher Paul Rose, geography teacher Jenny Shephard and maths teacher LizAnn Petch.

It will be Mrs Shephard's 12th marathon. She said: "We've been training five days a week with a longer run at the weekend. We're all hoping to finish in four hours and raise as much money as possible for KISS.